So, its been awhile, I know, but to be fair, I was going to post awhile ago, got the whole thing typed and ready to go and wouldn't you know it, the computer froze and I lost all my thought provoking material and wasn't in the mood to retype it. But now I have time so here you go. Let's hope the computer doesn't freeze...again.
Summer is here, though its been up and down. Sometimes chilly, sometimes muggy, seems to be raining a lot (which we just love, given last year's epic flood) all of which is great when you have kids. BellaRose just loves going outside ("bat-side" as she calls it) and doesn't quite get it when its rainy or 100+ degrees and she can't go. We have season passes to the Ames pool again and she loves going, of course. We've gone a few times but its hard with this rainy weather. She would go everyday if you let her decide. She went with her Momby a few weeks ago and I guess they (the lifeguards)let her go down a big slide, which she wanted to. Her Uncle Jordan was at the top manning the slide so she trusted him enough to push her down at least. The last time I took her she wanted to try it again but got scared when we reached the top. I guess she was expecting Jordan.
Jude has grown like wildfire. He just turned 4 mos. and is wearing 6 mos. to 12 mos. clothes, depending on the brand. He's a big kid, for sure, with a healthy appetite. My mom says I was a big kid too and everyone says he looks like me. For me its hard to see. I only know what adult, grey-haired, permanent 5 o'clock shadow Mike looks like, not 4 mos. old me. I guess I'll take their word for it.
Jude is sleeping in his crib now, in he and BellaRose's room. She doesn't seem to mind having a roommate and he's doing quite well. Some nights he'll go a full 10-12 hours without waking up or needing to feed and other nights he'll wake up like clockwork every 4 hours, feed, and go back to sleep. Either way, he and BellaRose are asleep from about 9 pm until 8 am each day. That chunk of time between 9 and midnight is quality Mom and Dad time, usually spent cleaning something, preparing for the next day or if we're lucky, relaxing, watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy and eating ice cream like its going out of style. Elizabeth didn't use to be as serious an ice cream connoisseur until she met me. As my family can attest, we Davis' are fanatics about ice cream and can devour whole gallons in mere minutes. And always between the hours of 9 and midnight--peak ice cream eating time.
The job is going well. Keeping me busy, that's for sure. Lizzie seems to be doing well too, adjusting to two kids. I would say she's doing fantastic. I'm constantly impressed. The times that I have both kids while she is out and about I find myself exhausted and at my wits end after only a few hours. She does it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (and sometimes more). What an excellent mom and wife she is, for sure.
That's mostly it for now. I bought a truck, so that's nice. We've had to replace our dryer, which is fun, and just today we found we need a new fridge, equally as fabulous. Oh the delights of homeownership. Hopefully both of these investments pay themselves off and last millions of years. Well, that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed this riveting tid-bit. A true white-knuckle read, I'm sure.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Spring Time (Kinda)
So, its spring or almost. The equinox has passed, sure, but the weather hasn't completely got the hint. Sure, there was almost a solid week there where temps were 70 to 90 degrees, but now its nigh on freezing and windy. Alas, such is Iowa in the spring time. Its a like a teenager, lost and unsure of if its cold and prickly, like winter, or warm and loving, like summer. I myself prefer the warm and loving type.
As you can imagine, its been a bit crazy around the Davis household, what with there being four of us and all, and two of us can't eat or poop without help. I'll give you two hints as to who the two people are, but you'll only need one. Jude has grown like wildfire since coming home. Much like his sister, he is above average in size. He wore his size "newborn" clothes for about one week and is now fitting into 3 mos. attire like a champ. I can say he has no lack of appetite, that's for sure.
BellaRose has become very attached to her "baby rubber"--in BR speak--Jude in no time at all. Sometimes she is a bit too attached. She likes to poke at him and say "got you" or "tickle, tickle" when really its more akin to a pin prick or pinch. Luckily he seems to not mind her much and from time to time he almost seems to prefer, nay, even LIKE BellaRose. I may have seen an askance smile aimed in her direction a couple times.
All in all we really couldn't be happier with BellaRose's adaptation to a baby in the house. She plays well with him and hasn't regressed in behavior or acted out at all. She is still her usual bossy, playful, single-minded self, which is nice.
I think Elizabeth has also adapted well to having two little ones to take care of while I'm at work. I was able to stay home a week when we first came home, which was nice considering I had only been at my new job (which I love) less than a month. Sometimes I take the kids while Lizzie stays home and naps or rests, giving me a mere glimpse at what she goes through daily for hours on end. Not entirely sure how she does it. And all without getting a grey hair! I must learn, for my number of grey hairs is increasing daily and spreading to my beard and chest! But that's another post entirely.
I know we are eagerly awaiting the summer months, when we can take the kids outside or to the pool and let them burn of some energy. I know BellaRose is always asking to go outside. She just likes to run around and be crazy. Not sure what other fun things we'll do this summer. I don't see any vacations in the future, but maybe we'll go somewhere further than Des Moines.
With that, I sign off. Currently Elizabeth and BellaRose are napping and Jude is looking at me like he wants to do something more than bounce in his seat. I suppose I can acquiesce to his request. That's what fathers do, right?
Take care all and I hope that spring sets in for good soon and we can unpack all those summer clothes still stored away. But that just means more yard work and hot, sweaty days. Perhaps I really don't hate winter that much. Who am I kidding. I say the craziest things sometimes!
As you can imagine, its been a bit crazy around the Davis household, what with there being four of us and all, and two of us can't eat or poop without help. I'll give you two hints as to who the two people are, but you'll only need one. Jude has grown like wildfire since coming home. Much like his sister, he is above average in size. He wore his size "newborn" clothes for about one week and is now fitting into 3 mos. attire like a champ. I can say he has no lack of appetite, that's for sure.
BellaRose has become very attached to her "baby rubber"--in BR speak--Jude in no time at all. Sometimes she is a bit too attached. She likes to poke at him and say "got you" or "tickle, tickle" when really its more akin to a pin prick or pinch. Luckily he seems to not mind her much and from time to time he almost seems to prefer, nay, even LIKE BellaRose. I may have seen an askance smile aimed in her direction a couple times.
All in all we really couldn't be happier with BellaRose's adaptation to a baby in the house. She plays well with him and hasn't regressed in behavior or acted out at all. She is still her usual bossy, playful, single-minded self, which is nice.
I think Elizabeth has also adapted well to having two little ones to take care of while I'm at work. I was able to stay home a week when we first came home, which was nice considering I had only been at my new job (which I love) less than a month. Sometimes I take the kids while Lizzie stays home and naps or rests, giving me a mere glimpse at what she goes through daily for hours on end. Not entirely sure how she does it. And all without getting a grey hair! I must learn, for my number of grey hairs is increasing daily and spreading to my beard and chest! But that's another post entirely.
I know we are eagerly awaiting the summer months, when we can take the kids outside or to the pool and let them burn of some energy. I know BellaRose is always asking to go outside. She just likes to run around and be crazy. Not sure what other fun things we'll do this summer. I don't see any vacations in the future, but maybe we'll go somewhere further than Des Moines.
With that, I sign off. Currently Elizabeth and BellaRose are napping and Jude is looking at me like he wants to do something more than bounce in his seat. I suppose I can acquiesce to his request. That's what fathers do, right?
Take care all and I hope that spring sets in for good soon and we can unpack all those summer clothes still stored away. But that just means more yard work and hot, sweaty days. Perhaps I really don't hate winter that much. Who am I kidding. I say the craziest things sometimes!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Jude Richard John
Its official, we're a family of four now. Well, since February 20th, to be exact.
At 10:27 am, at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, our son Jude Richard John was born. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5 in. long. He was born at 39 weeks and three days, two weeks later than BellaRose was. He weighed only 5 oz. more than BellaRose did as well. They were the same exact length, 20.5 in., though many people I have discussed this coincidence with believe that all babies are 20.5 in. long at birth. I suggested that their tape measures may only go to 20.5", but that seems illogical.
The whole labor and birth went by fairly quickly, though if you asked Elizabeth, I think she would differ on the definition of "quickly". For the past few weeks she'd been experiencing contractions that were irregular in length and would come at random intervals--many times hours upon hours apart. Furthermore, she fell on the ice on Super Bowl Sunday, so we went in that evening to make sure baby was okay, which he was, but it was found out she was 3 cm. dilated and 80% effaced. At her following neo-natal check-up, the midwife further exclaimed Elizabeth's closeness to having this baby and she was told that she would most certainly not make it to the due date--Feb. 24th-- and could have the baby "any time", which is a reassuring diagnosis to be handed by a medical practitioner. I find that pre-natal care is a lot like meteorology in that they can only be so exact with their estimations or time, severity, when something will occur or what will actually happen. But I digress. As a result of that hullabaloo about going "any time", we were both on high alert for a couple weeks, only to be let down when contractions continued to be irregular. At our 39 week appointment, the midwife said we were ever closer but still not there. They couldn't break our water since we weren't full term, but stated they would if she were still pregnant at 40 weeks. We set up our appointment for the following Thursday, his due day, and planned to likely be induced but alas, Sunday morning rolled around and it appeared Jude had an important function to be at and needed to come out that same day. We were okay with it though.
So, like I said, the actual labor went fast, at least once it kicked in full fledged. At about 5 am, Lizzie started to get regular contractions and by 7 am they kept going and getting closer, about 2-5 mins apart. After finally convincing her this was likely the real deal (she really didn't wanna go in until his head was poking out) we made for the hospital. Of course, we hit nearly every red light in town and got stopped by a train. However, we made it.
She was at about 4 cm. dilated at that point and the midwife said we were gonna have him that day. Naturally, we were hesitant to believe this diagnosis (see meteorology reference above) but played along nicely. The kind midwife, however, did prove to be correct and things began progressing quickly, much quicker than we or the hospital staff presumed it would. By 9am were almost nearing the time to push and Elizabeth was contemplating an epidural but since she progressed so fast it really became a non-option for her so my wife, that ol' girl, experienced the full pangs of natural child birth, even the dread "ring of fire". I have a new found respect for her now. More than she will ever truly appreciate.
Jude came out pretty promptly, with probably about 30-45 mins of pushing. It was hard to imagine what he'd be like. The second kid would help predict, or so I thought, how dominant Elizabeth's genes were since BellaRose is like her doppelganger. We were unsure if he'd be blonde or have brown hair, or none at all like Bella did. His eyes would likely be blue but could be brown and who he'd look like was also up in the air. I was presuming he'd be another carbon copy of Elizabeth--blonde with blue eyes and her distinctive mouth. However, Jude came out with a full head of brown hair, way more than his sister had at birth, though he did look a lot like BellaRose did at birth. People say he looks more like me than she did. I'm still unsure. Regardless, I like the little guy a lot. He's a funny kid and I'm eager to the throw the ball around with him, though I am a bit jealous of all the time he gets to spend with Elizabeth.
The whole name thing was another fiasco. We'd been giving the family a fake name during the pregnancy--Dracula Rambo--and keeping his true name a secret. The bigger secret was that we weren't sure on his name at all and wanted to wait to meet him to decide anything solid. After a few hours, family was hounding us for names so we had to decide. Both of us like the name Jude and that it was rare and cute. I wanted to name a son after my dad and since I'm not sure if we'll have another kid, let along a boy, I thought it best to name him John now. Jude John didn't sound too cool and we didn't want him to be known as "J.J.", so we incorporated Jude's other grandpa's name, Richard. So, if you wanna know, that's how he got his name.
All in all we are very happy with Jude. He's a good baby who only really cries when he's hungry, which seems like all the time. BellaRose likes him too, and he likes her. They sit together on the couch a lot and she likes to play "tickle baby" or "get you baby" a lot. She insists on giving him a kiss before bed too, and when she gets up she asks where "baby" is. We couldn't have asked for a better response from BellaRose. We were anticipating regression behaviors, acting out and jealousy issues but so far she's been very responsive to the idea of a baby brother.
We'll let you know more soon. Hope you enjoyed the update. Thanks too all for the well-wishes, support and congrats! We appreciate it all so very much. Thanks again and toodles!
At 10:27 am, at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, our son Jude Richard John was born. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5 in. long. He was born at 39 weeks and three days, two weeks later than BellaRose was. He weighed only 5 oz. more than BellaRose did as well. They were the same exact length, 20.5 in., though many people I have discussed this coincidence with believe that all babies are 20.5 in. long at birth. I suggested that their tape measures may only go to 20.5", but that seems illogical.The whole labor and birth went by fairly quickly, though if you asked Elizabeth, I think she would differ on the definition of "quickly". For the past few weeks she'd been experiencing contractions that were irregular in length and would come at random intervals--many times hours upon hours apart. Furthermore, she fell on the ice on Super Bowl Sunday, so we went in that evening to make sure baby was okay, which he was, but it was found out she was 3 cm. dilated and 80% effaced. At her following neo-natal check-up, the midwife further exclaimed Elizabeth's closeness to having this baby and she was told that she would most certainly not make it to the due date--Feb. 24th-- and could have the baby "any time", which is a reassuring diagnosis to be handed by a medical practitioner. I find that pre-natal care is a lot like meteorology in that they can only be so exact with their estimations or time, severity, when something will occur or what will actually happen. But I digress. As a result of that hullabaloo about going "any time", we were both on high alert for a couple weeks, only to be let down when contractions continued to be irregular. At our 39 week appointment, the midwife said we were ever closer but still not there. They couldn't break our water since we weren't full term, but stated they would if she were still pregnant at 40 weeks. We set up our appointment for the following Thursday, his due day, and planned to likely be induced but alas, Sunday morning rolled around and it appeared Jude had an important function to be at and needed to come out that same day. We were okay with it though.
So, like I said, the actual labor went fast, at least once it kicked in full fledged. At about 5 am, Lizzie started to get regular contractions and by 7 am they kept going and getting closer, about 2-5 mins apart. After finally convincing her this was likely the real deal (she really didn't wanna go in until his head was poking out) we made for the hospital. Of course, we hit nearly every red light in town and got stopped by a train. However, we made it.
She was at about 4 cm. dilated at that point and the midwife said we were gonna have him that day. Naturally, we were hesitant to believe this diagnosis (see meteorology reference above) but played along nicely. The kind midwife, however, did prove to be correct and things began progressing quickly, much quicker than we or the hospital staff presumed it would. By 9am were almost nearing the time to push and Elizabeth was contemplating an epidural but since she progressed so fast it really became a non-option for her so my wife, that ol' girl, experienced the full pangs of natural child birth, even the dread "ring of fire". I have a new found respect for her now. More than she will ever truly appreciate.
Jude came out pretty promptly, with probably about 30-45 mins of pushing. It was hard to imagine what he'd be like. The second kid would help predict, or so I thought, how dominant Elizabeth's genes were since BellaRose is like her doppelganger. We were unsure if he'd be blonde or have brown hair, or none at all like Bella did. His eyes would likely be blue but could be brown and who he'd look like was also up in the air. I was presuming he'd be another carbon copy of Elizabeth--blonde with blue eyes and her distinctive mouth. However, Jude came out with a full head of brown hair, way more than his sister had at birth, though he did look a lot like BellaRose did at birth. People say he looks more like me than she did. I'm still unsure. Regardless, I like the little guy a lot. He's a funny kid and I'm eager to the throw the ball around with him, though I am a bit jealous of all the time he gets to spend with Elizabeth.
The whole name thing was another fiasco. We'd been giving the family a fake name during the pregnancy--Dracula Rambo--and keeping his true name a secret. The bigger secret was that we weren't sure on his name at all and wanted to wait to meet him to decide anything solid. After a few hours, family was hounding us for names so we had to decide. Both of us like the name Jude and that it was rare and cute. I wanted to name a son after my dad and since I'm not sure if we'll have another kid, let along a boy, I thought it best to name him John now. Jude John didn't sound too cool and we didn't want him to be known as "J.J.", so we incorporated Jude's other grandpa's name, Richard. So, if you wanna know, that's how he got his name.
All in all we are very happy with Jude. He's a good baby who only really cries when he's hungry, which seems like all the time. BellaRose likes him too, and he likes her. They sit together on the couch a lot and she likes to play "tickle baby" or "get you baby" a lot. She insists on giving him a kiss before bed too, and when she gets up she asks where "baby" is. We couldn't have asked for a better response from BellaRose. We were anticipating regression behaviors, acting out and jealousy issues but so far she's been very responsive to the idea of a baby brother.
We'll let you know more soon. Hope you enjoyed the update. Thanks too all for the well-wishes, support and congrats! We appreciate it all so very much. Thanks again and toodles!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Christmas and the Fast Approaching New Year
Well, 'tis that time of year again when we are nigh on the start of a new year and left thinking "where did last year go?" I remember them discussing ad nauseum at the beginning of this year what a big deal it was for the 2000s to be over and what, in turn, they were gonna call this year, i.e. two-thousand-ten or twenty-ten. I like to refer to it as the year '10. Makes it seem archaic, when really its full of all manner of newfangled technologies and ultra-modern accoutrements. But then again, I do enjoy combing refined speech with backwoods, country drawl. It is a truly American dialect. But that is neither here nor there.
The baby is coming along nicely. It's amazing how quickly it is approaching and how very much there is still left to do. Since we know what to expect with this one, there is definitely less hoopla abounding the whole process. There are not too many surprises the second time around. We're hopeful to paint the bedroom in the next week (with the help of Leisa, since the last time Lizzie helped she went into pre-term labor) and after the first of the year we are looking into purchasing a van. I realize now that this is a lesson in humility, for there were many times I poked fun at men for owning a van and soon that man shall be me.
In some instances this pregnancy is a bit different, being that he is a boy. I feel, and so does Lizzie, that he is a very rambunctious kid, unlike BellaRose was in the womb. Sure, she would occasionally kick and you could see it/feel it but he, on the other hand, appears to know Kung Fu and is systematically checking the womb for weaknesses, as a means for quick escape. Finally, it seems, BellaRose may have met her match in him. In due time it will be her that is bullied upon and not the other way around.
As far as Christmas goes, we had a relaxing time. Lizzie celebrated her birthday as well on the 24th. Her and I went to P.F. Changs in Des Moines for dinner and then to Jordan Creek. It was a good time. On Christmas Day we went over to Lizzie's folks and had dinner-- I prepared a ham, a first for me--and opened gifts. Per usual, the smallest one, Ms. Bella, got the most presents. She definitely has gotten into the idea of opening presents and spares no time in destroying anything wrapped. She got her fair share of Barbies, books and a kitchenette set complete with food. Later this evening, in fact, we are traveling to my parents for our belated Christmas, where I'm sure she'll continue to get a prodigious great amount of gifts, all of which she'll want opened and made available to her immediately upon opening. Such is the life of a princess.
Unfortunately I have to work New Year's Eve and Day but its not all bad. I'll be making good money and it probably sha'nt be too busy. Or so I hope. We'll fill you in on more goings on when they happen. Certainly we'll be informing you of our new arrival come this February, in the year '11. See, doesn't that just sound nostalgic? '11? It could mean 1911, 1811 or maybe even 11 BCE. Its magical. I hereby bequeath permission to use my anachronism. Enjoy.
Later all. Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and may you all have a Happy New Year! May the year '11 treat you as kindly, if not better, than the year '10 did. Toodles!
-Mike
The baby is coming along nicely. It's amazing how quickly it is approaching and how very much there is still left to do. Since we know what to expect with this one, there is definitely less hoopla abounding the whole process. There are not too many surprises the second time around. We're hopeful to paint the bedroom in the next week (with the help of Leisa, since the last time Lizzie helped she went into pre-term labor) and after the first of the year we are looking into purchasing a van. I realize now that this is a lesson in humility, for there were many times I poked fun at men for owning a van and soon that man shall be me.
In some instances this pregnancy is a bit different, being that he is a boy. I feel, and so does Lizzie, that he is a very rambunctious kid, unlike BellaRose was in the womb. Sure, she would occasionally kick and you could see it/feel it but he, on the other hand, appears to know Kung Fu and is systematically checking the womb for weaknesses, as a means for quick escape. Finally, it seems, BellaRose may have met her match in him. In due time it will be her that is bullied upon and not the other way around.
As far as Christmas goes, we had a relaxing time. Lizzie celebrated her birthday as well on the 24th. Her and I went to P.F. Changs in Des Moines for dinner and then to Jordan Creek. It was a good time. On Christmas Day we went over to Lizzie's folks and had dinner-- I prepared a ham, a first for me--and opened gifts. Per usual, the smallest one, Ms. Bella, got the most presents. She definitely has gotten into the idea of opening presents and spares no time in destroying anything wrapped. She got her fair share of Barbies, books and a kitchenette set complete with food. Later this evening, in fact, we are traveling to my parents for our belated Christmas, where I'm sure she'll continue to get a prodigious great amount of gifts, all of which she'll want opened and made available to her immediately upon opening. Such is the life of a princess.
Unfortunately I have to work New Year's Eve and Day but its not all bad. I'll be making good money and it probably sha'nt be too busy. Or so I hope. We'll fill you in on more goings on when they happen. Certainly we'll be informing you of our new arrival come this February, in the year '11. See, doesn't that just sound nostalgic? '11? It could mean 1911, 1811 or maybe even 11 BCE. Its magical. I hereby bequeath permission to use my anachronism. Enjoy.
Later all. Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and may you all have a Happy New Year! May the year '11 treat you as kindly, if not better, than the year '10 did. Toodles!
-Mike
Thursday, October 21, 2010
It's (We're Told) a BOY!
Yes, after much hullabaloo and abounding hysteria the 20 week ultrasound deduced that our child is of male gender. The hospital, for insurance purposes, cannot 100% guarantee that our baby is a boy but given the word of the technician and the concurrence of the midwife, who exclaimed that technicians don't usually offer an educated guess on gender unless they are nearly cocksure, we are fairly confident that our growing child is a dapper little man. This came as no surprise to me, as my gut was telling me boy for quite some time. Elizabeth, however, was on the fence. I find that women do not, and moreover cannot, rely on gut feelings. Perhaps they don't have them. Either way, its a boy and we couldn't be more ecstatic.
With the addition of another male around the home, I find myself in a new and precarious dilemma. With BellaRose, I was highly confident in my ability to parent her in the traditional doting father way. I shower her with kisses, cuddles, gifts and offer a playful manner unique to most fathers. Its rough, yet sensitive and always intimate. BellaRose has no personal space when it comes to me.
With a boy I am perplexed, somewhat, on the idea of how to be a father to him. I know that no matter what I do I am always his father but I wanna be that awesome dad--the kind that teaches him my all and instills manly confidence in him. I feel like I have so little time to bestow my sagely advice and know-how onto this young chap and I've got to start early. Furthermore, I want to be a modern dad too, and not limit my son to only socially "manly" endeavors in life. If he wants to dance then he can dance. If he wants to be an artist then so be it. I'm not gonna limit him to only being a firemen, lumberjack or professional athlete. On the same token, however, I want to also teach some of those macho, guy things that my dad taught me. Auto maintenance, playing catch, shaving, etc., are important things I want to do with my little boy. Is it possible to raise a child in a happy medium of masculine-feminine folkways? That's what I'm going for. Maybe something like 7o% macho, 30% effeminate. Is that a good ratio?
Lastly, I'm a bit unsure about my ability to be intimate with my son, on the count that I'm not really intimate with any male children I know. Sure, I love my nephews and cousins but I don't hold them and kiss them like I do BellaRose. I'm a little worried that I won't be close to my son like I am to BellaRose. Again, this is probably nothing. When he arrives I'm sure I'll feel a closeness to him like no other. I suppose I should look no further than my own relationship with my dad as Exhibit A to the likely relationship I'll have with my son, in which case I shouldn't worry. Just gets the mind thinkin', ya know, having the knowledge that soon I'll have a son--a miniature version of me.
This is probably all sounding like nonsense. I'm simply over-thinking it. Most likely my child will grow up perfectly normal, with no lack of masculine identity and a strong and loving relationship with his parents. That's what we all hope for, right?
I'll keep you all posted. Lizzie is having another ultrasound in a few weeks. They couldn't get a good picture of the baby's lower spine, on the count her wouldn't roll over. He just simply burried his head into mom's womb and practiced his Tai Bo on the other side of her tummy, kicking away his frustrations like baby rabbit on speed. I blame this on the Starbucks we had just before our appointment, albeit it did work in making him more active. Anyways, I'll let you know how that one goes and maybe more evidence will come to light verifying the already concluded gender of Baby Davis 2.0--a boy.
Later all and have a pleasant October.
-Michael
P.S. I'll be 28 in not but a fortnight, yikes!
With the addition of another male around the home, I find myself in a new and precarious dilemma. With BellaRose, I was highly confident in my ability to parent her in the traditional doting father way. I shower her with kisses, cuddles, gifts and offer a playful manner unique to most fathers. Its rough, yet sensitive and always intimate. BellaRose has no personal space when it comes to me.
With a boy I am perplexed, somewhat, on the idea of how to be a father to him. I know that no matter what I do I am always his father but I wanna be that awesome dad--the kind that teaches him my all and instills manly confidence in him. I feel like I have so little time to bestow my sagely advice and know-how onto this young chap and I've got to start early. Furthermore, I want to be a modern dad too, and not limit my son to only socially "manly" endeavors in life. If he wants to dance then he can dance. If he wants to be an artist then so be it. I'm not gonna limit him to only being a firemen, lumberjack or professional athlete. On the same token, however, I want to also teach some of those macho, guy things that my dad taught me. Auto maintenance, playing catch, shaving, etc., are important things I want to do with my little boy. Is it possible to raise a child in a happy medium of masculine-feminine folkways? That's what I'm going for. Maybe something like 7o% macho, 30% effeminate. Is that a good ratio?
Lastly, I'm a bit unsure about my ability to be intimate with my son, on the count that I'm not really intimate with any male children I know. Sure, I love my nephews and cousins but I don't hold them and kiss them like I do BellaRose. I'm a little worried that I won't be close to my son like I am to BellaRose. Again, this is probably nothing. When he arrives I'm sure I'll feel a closeness to him like no other. I suppose I should look no further than my own relationship with my dad as Exhibit A to the likely relationship I'll have with my son, in which case I shouldn't worry. Just gets the mind thinkin', ya know, having the knowledge that soon I'll have a son--a miniature version of me.
This is probably all sounding like nonsense. I'm simply over-thinking it. Most likely my child will grow up perfectly normal, with no lack of masculine identity and a strong and loving relationship with his parents. That's what we all hope for, right?
I'll keep you all posted. Lizzie is having another ultrasound in a few weeks. They couldn't get a good picture of the baby's lower spine, on the count her wouldn't roll over. He just simply burried his head into mom's womb and practiced his Tai Bo on the other side of her tummy, kicking away his frustrations like baby rabbit on speed. I blame this on the Starbucks we had just before our appointment, albeit it did work in making him more active. Anyways, I'll let you know how that one goes and maybe more evidence will come to light verifying the already concluded gender of Baby Davis 2.0--a boy.
Later all and have a pleasant October.
-Michael
P.S. I'll be 28 in not but a fortnight, yikes!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Lemme Catch You Up
Well a lot has certainly happened since March of this year and definitely do NOT have enough time or space to completely update you on all our happenings and goings-on since then but I will do my best to apprise you of the most important changes in the lives of us three that a worth note. I have comprised a list for you so that you can breeze through them since you may already know some, any, or all of them. Enjoy.
1.) It definitely is worth noting that Elizabeth graduated from ISU in May. She has her B.S. in Child, Adult and Family Services. What a gal, eh?
2.) In April we moved to a new home--a trailer which we purchased here in Ames. We own it outright and have done a few upgrades on it, i.e. painting, electrical, flooring, the list goes on. Its in south Ames, just east of Duff Ave and very near Hickory Park. So far we have enjoyed it and BellaRose adjusted well.
3.) I have been working at Mary Greeley now for 6 months. I started in Valet but now have moved on and up to Patient Transportation. Basically I take patients to and from appointments in the hospital. I also take items to rooms/floors and take medications from pharmacy. I walk a lot during the day, which has been good, and I get to wear khaki scrubs. How cool.
4.) We survived the epic flood of '10, just barely. We woke up that morning to find the water encroaching on our abode. The night before we had moved our cars, which ended up being a wise choice. We packed up some stuff and moved things out of our shed and waded through knee deep river water with a backpack, suitcase and BellaRose. It took us a good while to get to the north side of Ames but we made it and ended up staying in Grandma Phyliss' old condo for a few days. We came back to find our trailer had not been infiltrated with river water. It got to within 6" of our door, though. We've had to replace our shed, which was a chore, and we are getting our kitchen floor redone, on the count it was starting to warp. All in all we lucked out, since others in our lot were certainly less fortunate that us.
5.) BellaRose is definitely in the midst of her "Terrible Twos". She throw fits from time to time but we have been pretty lucky that she has responded pretty well to our attempts at discipline, i.e. time outs or just frankly ignoring her pleas during hysteria. She is a very active kid who shows no fear and would willingly run off a cliff if you let her. She also has a penchant for dolls and dancing. Truly, she is a princess. Hard to believe in 2 months she will be 2 years old!
6.) What is probably most important is that Elizabeth and I are expecting another child in February. Specifically, its due Feb. 24th. We do not know the sex yet but we have our 20 week ultrasound a week from this Friday so we hope to know by then. We're unsure what we would like to have, since there are benefits either way--BellaRose could have a little sister playmate or a little brother for her to pick on, at least providing her a distraction that moves and makes sound without batteries. We shall see, I guess.
So I guess that is quite a bit of stuff to sum up but if I were to go to great length on all of them I'd be by the computer until winter. There was some other stuff as well that occurred but honestly, most of you who read this probably already know the details or we're just not sharing them. After all, we are allowed some measure of privacy. Its in the Constitution, I think.
Well, I hope this has been informative and I certainly hope to post a bit more frequently then once every six months. At least I'd like to post about the new baby. Keep your eyes peeled and I promise to inform you all on the progress of the new baby and any other goings-on in the Davis household. Au revoir, mes amis et bonne journee!
-Michael
1.) It definitely is worth noting that Elizabeth graduated from ISU in May. She has her B.S. in Child, Adult and Family Services. What a gal, eh?
2.) In April we moved to a new home--a trailer which we purchased here in Ames. We own it outright and have done a few upgrades on it, i.e. painting, electrical, flooring, the list goes on. Its in south Ames, just east of Duff Ave and very near Hickory Park. So far we have enjoyed it and BellaRose adjusted well.
3.) I have been working at Mary Greeley now for 6 months. I started in Valet but now have moved on and up to Patient Transportation. Basically I take patients to and from appointments in the hospital. I also take items to rooms/floors and take medications from pharmacy. I walk a lot during the day, which has been good, and I get to wear khaki scrubs. How cool.
4.) We survived the epic flood of '10, just barely. We woke up that morning to find the water encroaching on our abode. The night before we had moved our cars, which ended up being a wise choice. We packed up some stuff and moved things out of our shed and waded through knee deep river water with a backpack, suitcase and BellaRose. It took us a good while to get to the north side of Ames but we made it and ended up staying in Grandma Phyliss' old condo for a few days. We came back to find our trailer had not been infiltrated with river water. It got to within 6" of our door, though. We've had to replace our shed, which was a chore, and we are getting our kitchen floor redone, on the count it was starting to warp. All in all we lucked out, since others in our lot were certainly less fortunate that us.
5.) BellaRose is definitely in the midst of her "Terrible Twos". She throw fits from time to time but we have been pretty lucky that she has responded pretty well to our attempts at discipline, i.e. time outs or just frankly ignoring her pleas during hysteria. She is a very active kid who shows no fear and would willingly run off a cliff if you let her. She also has a penchant for dolls and dancing. Truly, she is a princess. Hard to believe in 2 months she will be 2 years old!
6.) What is probably most important is that Elizabeth and I are expecting another child in February. Specifically, its due Feb. 24th. We do not know the sex yet but we have our 20 week ultrasound a week from this Friday so we hope to know by then. We're unsure what we would like to have, since there are benefits either way--BellaRose could have a little sister playmate or a little brother for her to pick on, at least providing her a distraction that moves and makes sound without batteries. We shall see, I guess.
So I guess that is quite a bit of stuff to sum up but if I were to go to great length on all of them I'd be by the computer until winter. There was some other stuff as well that occurred but honestly, most of you who read this probably already know the details or we're just not sharing them. After all, we are allowed some measure of privacy. Its in the Constitution, I think.
Well, I hope this has been informative and I certainly hope to post a bit more frequently then once every six months. At least I'd like to post about the new baby. Keep your eyes peeled and I promise to inform you all on the progress of the new baby and any other goings-on in the Davis household. Au revoir, mes amis et bonne journee!
-Michael
Monday, March 8, 2010
Its Official, Bella is a Walker
Yes, that's right patient readers, our little darling, the apple of everyone's eye--BellaRose--can now walk. I suppose she has been close for some time now, say about a month, taking a a few steps at a time, walking from Mom to Dad only the rarest of times when she "feels" like it. However, as of late, BellaRose has decided to predominantly walk from place to place. This is a sudden shift, as she was about 75/25 crawler, meaning she crawled 75% of the time and only walked the remaining 25%. It should also be noted that she only walked with her Mom and Dad, never with her grandparents.
She really began shifting to walking, though, when we started taking her to Toddler Time classes, the mall's play place and Play Pals at City Hall. I feel this is because she started to see other kids close to her age (whom she now recognizes as actual people and not toys) that were walking. Just like when she started crawling, she started walking as if she could do it the whole time. We knew it was near, since she was constantly sliding along the couch or other things, pushing anything on floor she could and standing without assistance, even while holding things in her hands. We were eager to see her walk since she is now 15 months and we see other kids, much younger, walking. Of course 15 months isn't late, by any means, to begin walking but you want your child to be above average in all categories. I'm sure any future kids will walk a little earlier than Bella did just because they see her doing it. Then again maybe not.
Besides the walking, Bella is a pretty talkative and a mimicker. She copies, or tries to, most actions she sees you do with your hands. She also sings a little. You can tell its singing because its noticeably different than her talking voice. She says "hi" a lot and "dad" She seems to be very intelligent, if you ask me, but I'm partial I guess. She also is starting to enjoy the tv a little more, which is a blessing and a curse. We don't want Bella to become attached to the tv or for us to over use it as some sort of a make-shift babysitter. Plus, too much television watching at an early age has been linked to ADHD. I suppose, though, I'm happy she has some tv shows she likes to watch.
Well, that's about all for now. I'll update more soon, especially if BellaRose begins to drive the car or publish a novel. Talk to you all soon and hopefully Spring is no the way. I much prefer this warmer weather, even if it means rain. Take care now. Bye-bye.
She really began shifting to walking, though, when we started taking her to Toddler Time classes, the mall's play place and Play Pals at City Hall. I feel this is because she started to see other kids close to her age (whom she now recognizes as actual people and not toys) that were walking. Just like when she started crawling, she started walking as if she could do it the whole time. We knew it was near, since she was constantly sliding along the couch or other things, pushing anything on floor she could and standing without assistance, even while holding things in her hands. We were eager to see her walk since she is now 15 months and we see other kids, much younger, walking. Of course 15 months isn't late, by any means, to begin walking but you want your child to be above average in all categories. I'm sure any future kids will walk a little earlier than Bella did just because they see her doing it. Then again maybe not.
Besides the walking, Bella is a pretty talkative and a mimicker. She copies, or tries to, most actions she sees you do with your hands. She also sings a little. You can tell its singing because its noticeably different than her talking voice. She says "hi" a lot and "dad" She seems to be very intelligent, if you ask me, but I'm partial I guess. She also is starting to enjoy the tv a little more, which is a blessing and a curse. We don't want Bella to become attached to the tv or for us to over use it as some sort of a make-shift babysitter. Plus, too much television watching at an early age has been linked to ADHD. I suppose, though, I'm happy she has some tv shows she likes to watch.
Well, that's about all for now. I'll update more soon, especially if BellaRose begins to drive the car or publish a novel. Talk to you all soon and hopefully Spring is no the way. I much prefer this warmer weather, even if it means rain. Take care now. Bye-bye.
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